


Judgment

by n7chelle



Series: A Herd of Black Sheep [7]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Dragon Age Quest: Sit In Judgment - Alexius, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-30
Updated: 2018-09-30
Packaged: 2019-07-20 15:12:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16139885
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/n7chelle/pseuds/n7chelle
Summary: Theo witnesses his sister judging prisoners of the Inquisition.





	Judgment

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt this time: the reaction from an NPC/Companion to the results of a specific judgement.

Lady Montilyet had arranged quarters for all three of the Trevelyan siblings. Athena pointed them out as they were walking the ramparts, but only one room ended up seeing use. Baz had disappeared after the ox-horned qunari and his Tevinter mage companion once their plates were cleared at dinner, and Fi had stuck herself to Athena's side like a limpet ever since whatever transpired at the tavern. He can't feel too annoyed at that--if Athena can bringing their youngest sister back out of her self-imposed shell, he'll gladly let Fi monopolize her time for now.

Still, it leaves Theo feeling at loose ends only a day after arriving at Skyhold. After breakfast--where he'd seen none of his siblings--he takes to wandering the keep, lost in thought. Nobody stops him or bothers to ask who he is, or even gives him much beyond a passing glance at all. Athena had introduced a few of her inner circle at dinner the night before. Beside such varied and extraordinary folk, Theo supposes one more unremarkable human is of little consequence. He can hardly believe some of the people Athena has recruited. It's no wonder their are stirrings of unease rippling across Ferelden and Orlais. The Inquisition is collecting allegiances from all over--dwarves, elves, even qunari, and humans from every nation in Thedas--under a single banner, and forging their own path through the chaos. 

What exactly does the Inquisition--and his sister--plan to do once their mission is completed? He can't imagine all of this--the soldiers, the alliances and resources, just dissolving into nothing. But what nation could--or even should--claim the Inquisition's sole fealty? Skyhold may be only a stronghold for now, a place to house soldiers and conduct the business of war, but it's not too much effort for Theo to picture a certain future: a lone fortress in snow-capped mountains, with a burgeoning castle town in the surrounding valley. This is how kingdoms are born.

All this Theo ponders as he drifts aimlessly from one end of Skyhold to the other, the general din of countless people at work carrying him back and forth like a lone ship tossed by unconcerned tides. It's unexpected silence that finally draws Theo out of his thoughts, as he's climbing the last few steps back to the upper courtyard. A loose crowd is gathered on either side of the steps up to the Great Hall. Inquisition soldiers, more heavily armed than he's yet seen within Skyhold, emerge from an iron-banded door set into the north wall that Theo hadn't noticed before now. He can readily infer where it leads, however, and his suspicions are confirmed when a pair of men appear behind the soldiers, bound in chains.

Two prisoners could hardly be more different: the first follows his escorts with the shuffling gait of the defeated. His clothes are ornate beneath their tattered shabbiness, and though Theo doesn't recognize the style, something in the layers reminds him of Dorian, the Tevinter mage he met last night. The second man is tall, broad, and made bigger still by the bushy pelt on his back and the horned skin of some beast pulled down over his eyes like a mask. He radiates neither shame nor resignation, swaggering comfortably despite the heavy cuffs around his wrists. 

The crowd of onlookers begins to fold in on itself. The leading edge trails after the escorting guards at a safe distance, filing after them into the Great Hall. Curious, Theo makes no effort to push his way out of the crowd, allowing himself to be carried along by the flow of people moving up the stairs. The hall is nearly packed by the time he enters, but nothing breaks the somber quiet that has descended inside besides the echo of shifting feet--until the figure of Lady Montilyet appears at the front of the hall.

Having seen his sister's ridiculously oppulent throne is nothing compared the sight of her actually sitting on it, holding court and reigning supreme. The sun's rays cascade through the long windows behind her, setting the throne aflame with a hazy golden glow. Theo has seen the Anchor now, and heard the rumors that came across the Waking Sea. He's not the most devout of his siblings, but neither is he the least. It's hard to deny that Athena could truly be the Herald of Andraste as so many believe--or fear--when seeing her like this. The woman commanding such respect and awe from the men and women pressed around Theo is so much more than just his little sister, more than the castoff daughter of a wayward nobleman. It staggers to think a guardswoman tapped for honor guard duty to the Conclave because of her lineage could, in a few short months, become Inquisitor, a title that hasn't been heard in Thedas since the first Age.

Theo hadn't been listening as Lady Montilyet delivered the first prisoner's name and the list of charges against him, nor whatever the man had offered in his own defense. Suddenly, the crowd seems to draw a collective breath in anticipation, and the Inquisitor's sentence rings clear throughout the hall. 

"You swore to the mages you'd help them. I will have you uphold that promise," Athena declares, and Theo is surprised at the barely leashed anger in her tone. So many untold stories between them now, and he's certain not nearly enough time to catch them up. "Fiona will take charge of you. Any knowledge, favor, or coin you own will go towards the mages' future."

"A headsman would've been kinder," the man replies bitterly, before he's pulled aside. Murmurs whisper through the crowd for a moment. Theo hears a few scoffs but most sound like they approve of Athena's choice. Whatever the man did, serving his enemies seems a fitting punishment. The crowd goes silent as the second man is brought forward, and Theo finds himself listening intently this time, as intrigued and curious as everyone else. 

The mantle of cold fury seems to fall away from his sister as she speaks with the man--an Avaar clan leader, apparently not all that distraught over the death of a son at Athena's hands. There's a smile in her voice as she "exiles" him and his clan to Tevinter, and laughter spreads on the heels of the Avaar's own delight at his fate.

Athena rises from her throne without ceremony, disappearing with Lady Montilyet through the door Theo recognizes as her study. With the spectacle over, the crowd slowly disperses until the hall is more or less empty again, save for clumps of gossiping nobles and a few dwarven stoneworkers climbing back onto their scaffolding. A bell tolls somewhere in the keep, and kitchen staff begin to trickle in, pulling the long tables back into position in preparation for the midday meal.

Theo lingers for a bit by the hearth near the entrance, wondering for a moment if he'd be allowed to follow his sister and her advisor before thinking better of it. He's still feeling...unmoored, even after hours of turning the situation over in his mind, but seeing the fairness and restraint with which Athena judged those in Inquisition custody has eased at least some of his concerns. The responsibilities of her title don't seem to have changed her, at least not yet. He can only hope it remains thus. 

"I don't think we've been introduced," a gravelly voice says from very near. Theo turns from where he'd leaned against a table and finds a dwarf, a crimson tunic parted to expose a chest full of wiry hair, while his chin is uncommonly close-trimmed, regarding him with no small amount of interest. The tabletop is strewn with papers and ledgers, half-melted candles of various heights, and Theo realizes he was probably intruding on someone's workspace rather carelessly. 

"Sorry, I didn't mean to--" 

"No, no worries," the dwarf laughs, waving away Theo's concern. "Varric Tethras--yes, the author--at your service. You're...the inquisitor's brother, am I right? Something tells me you've got all sorts of good stories about our illustrious Herald..."


End file.
